MELBOURNE Victory coach Kevin Muscat says his side will attack Korean giants Jeonbuk Motors as it searches for a much-needed Asian Champions League win.

While it is far from do-or-die time for Victory at Etihad Stadium, it is on the back foot after the 4-2 opening-round loss to Guangzhou Evergrande, a game in which it lead 2-0 at half-time.

Captain Mark Milligan and fellow midfielder Tom Rogic — who did not feature in China two weeks ago — return after missing Friday’s confidence-boosting A-League win against Central Coast because of Socceroos duty.

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Adama Troare is expected to overcome the left knee ­injury that kept him out of the Mariners game and striker Kosta Barbarouses should come back in­return to the starting line-up.

“I don’t know if it’s about staying alive at this early stage, but it’s an opportunity for us,” Muscat said on Tuesday.

“It’s our first game at home so from that perspective we’ll be putting out a team to try and win the game.

“Home games are important in this competition, in any competition, and seeing as you only get three of them here it’s important that we get off to a positive start at home.”

Jeonbuk, according to coach Choi Kang-Hee, is a club with aspirations to win this year’s Champions League and started in stunning fashion with a 3-0 home win against Yokohama on February 26.

It has a 33-man squad it can rotate, so much so that many of the players who played in the team’s 3-0 K-League season-opening win against Busan I’Park on Saturday have been left at home.

That is a luxury Muscat can only dream about, but the fact remains that his selections are hamstrung by A-League rules that allow clubs a maximum of 23 contracted senior players.

Squad rotations of late have been forced by suspension, ­injury and international duty rather than by design, but Muscat said lack of continuity shouldwas not be seen as an excuse.

“Once you do get your opportunity to come in to the team it would be ideal if you had a little bit of consistency, but it’s not going to happen. We’ve got four games in 12 days now,” he said.

“So rather than coming in and saying, ‘I want to play alongside him for four games’ you’ve got to look at it as, ‘This is my opportunity’.

“Jimmy Jeggo comes in on the weekend and takes his opportunity and plays very well because he’s prepared himself well, understands what’s required of him in his role and he can go out and execute.

“Jesse (Makarounas) did the same thing in China. So from that perspective I’m not really bothered about trying to find that consistency in the XI at the moment because it’s not going to happen.”

Kang-Hee said yesterday Victory “played perfectly” in its dominant first half against Guangzhou a fortnight ago.

Muscat said the performance against the defending champions that night had given his team belief that it can compete with Asia’s biggest clubs.

“If we can’t take some belief from that first half performance then you’re not going to take belief out of anything,” he said.